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New Mrs. California will use crown for charity
CANDACE REED
For The North County Times
CARLSBAD ---- Although De'Anna Gullotta has been competing in beauty
pageants since she was a young girl, it wasn't the sparkling gowns and
glittering crowns that prompted her to compete in ---- and win ---- the
Mrs. California United States 2002 pageant Sunday.
"I want to be able to work with charities and be a
spokesperson," said Gullotta, 34, of Carlsbad. "If that means
I have to put a crown on my head and wear a sash then that's fine with
me."
The pageant was held at Quails Inn Hotel in San Marcos with 25 women
age's 35-40 answering questions and competing in the evening gown and
bathing suit competition. Besides her husband Tony, a software engineer,
Gullotta's father, the man who watched his daughter win her first crown
more than 20 years ago, sat among the standing-room-only crowd.
"I was Our Little Miss Escondido," said the Orange Glen
High School graduate. "My parents were divorced and the pageants
were outings for my dad and I. We would talk and we became great
friends. I think the pageant gave me the opportunity to get close to
him."
Gullotta hadn't entered a pageant in 17 years when she won the Mrs.
Carlsbad pageant last year, but she thought it would be a good way to
bring attention to causes such as breast cancer awareness in honor of
her mother, who was diagnosed with the disease two years ago.
"I think that every step you take leads you to something
else," said the former stuntwoman and mother to two young boys.
"By winning this pageant I hope to be able to do something positive
with the crown that can last a lifetime."
She took home a trophy and several prizes, including jewelry, makeup,
hair products and an engraved picture frame along with her new title.
She will compete in the Mrs. United States pageant this summer in Las
Vegas.
"I guess I have to get a whole new wardrobe for Las Vegas,"
she said. "I'm a full-time mom and my closet is not filled with
fancy dresses. This should be real interesting."
Although she's busy raising a family and campaigning for good causes,
Gullotta also likes to deep-sea fish and bowl.
"I don't mind getting my hands dirty," she said laughing.
"But I also like to collect Barbie dolls so I guess I'm not really
a typical queen."
3/28/02 |
San Diego Union Tribune 
3/30/02
Mrs. California hopes title helps in promoting issues |
Local beauty queen all mom
CARLSBAD -- De'Anna Gullotta doesn't live the kind of life
many people associate with a beauty queen.
The former stuntwoman and part-time model competed in several pageants when
she was younger. But these days she spends more time looking after her two young
sons than strolling down runways.
That changed last weekend -- if only for a few days -- when Gullotta, 35, was
crowned Mrs. California United States 2002, beating out 25 other married women
from all over the state.
In addition to the crystal-and-gold crown, she received a trophy and several
prizes, including jewelry, makeup, hair products and an engraved picture frame
from last year's winner, Kimberly Kogler of Vista.
"I was in utter shock," said Gullotta, who before her win Sunday
was the current Mrs. Carlsbad. She will be flown to Las Vegas this summer to
compete for Mrs. United States.
"The first thing that went through my mind is, `Oh, my God, I need a
baby sitter,' " she said.
A panel of four judges interviewed the contestants, ages 30 to 45, before the
pageant. Then the contestants were judged in bathing- suit and evening-gown
competitions. Finalists were asked an additional question onstage.
Gullotta's husband, Tony, a software engineer who works in Irvine, escorted
his wife across the stage during the evening-gown portion of the competition,
held at the Quails Inn Hotel in San Marcos.
"The only thing I was worried about was stepping on her dress," he
said yesterday. "It was a privilege and I was very proud of my wife. It
gave her a nice opportunity to do something for herself."
Gullotta said she plans to use her title as a way to promote community issues
that are important to her and her family. She said she hopes to work with
several charities and organizations, including the University of California San
Diego's Burn Center, which treated her then-4-month-old son, Dominic, after he
was burned in a household accident.
Gullotta also plans to use her title to promote breast cancer awareness
within her community in honor of her mother, who was diagnosed with the disease
two years ago.
"I really want to be able to speak and teach and tell people how they
have to become part of their own medical team," she said. "And don't
be afraid to ask your doctor questions."
Gullotta knows that a person doesn't have to hold a pageant title to get
involved in community issues, but said the little bit of celebrity that comes
with being Mrs. California might help her be heard.
"I use the crown and the visibility associated with it to open
doors," she said. "It seems like when you can call up and say, `Hi,
I'm Mrs. So-and-So,' the doors do open."
So far, Gullotta's only official appearance as Mrs. California has been at
her 3-year-old son A.J.'s preschool. She said her crown kept sliding off her
head as she bent to let the boys and girls touch the sparkling crystals.
Gullotta said that although she knows some people think pageants are sexist,
she believes they promote self-awareness and confidence. It's often not the
prettiest woman who wins, she said, but the one who represents a wide range of
experiences and ideas.
"When you enter a beauty pageant, it takes a lot of courage," said
Gullotta, who worked for seven years as a stuntwoman and body double on such
television shows as "Wiseguy" and "Hunter." "You have
to find an inner strength within yourself. It's really empowering to women.
"But it's definitely not something for everyone." Dana Littlefield:
(760) 476-8233; dana.littlefield@uniontrib.com